[Bob Carriere]

Phil

Remember when we first took out my truck we had problems with the transfer case linkages and T case shifter jamming in the jimjam....

Well it did it again......

First of all my truck would not start.... no spark.... new coil seemed very very hot..... may have been fried even though I was using a ballast and bi pass for starting only..... so I gave up and went for the gusto..

I have been planing to convert to an electronic system any ways sooooo ... I have installed a "Pertronix system" on my 261 Chevrolet..... so if any one else is considering take note......

Pertronix instructions are very brief and simple....... installation is very brief and simple..... remove the condenser and points..... remove phenolic block that takes current through the wall of the dizzy.

All the process is reversible.

Install the magnetic pick up using the points pivot post and the screw that previously held the points in place..... pull the triggering wires through the hole left in the side of the dizzy body where you removed the phenolic spacer.

Red wire on positive of the coil ....Black wire on negative of the coil....voila..

Pushdown the ferrite magnet ring over the lobed shaft.... install rotor and cap and fire up.

If you sheet metal is removed or not yet installed it can be done in situ...otherwise it is best to remove the whole dizzy assembly.

WHAT THE PERTRONIX DO NOT TELL YOU.....

You have to set the gap on the magnet and pick up at .028 - .030

Plugs should be regapped at .040 to .045.... to take advantage of the extra voltage...also runs better...
.............................I opted for the conservative .040

Recommend you use the Pertronix 40,000 volts coil which is internal resistor and you will not worry with a ballast.....

Those are not my discoveries but gleaned by reading other peoples' posting on the web and taking advantage of hours of frustrations expereinced by others.....

Engine started right up..... rough idle.... and smoking blue smoke which it had never done before....ran rich but not blue....

Changed the plugs to new AC 45 gapped at .040..... 90% of smoke disappeared...... runs like the devil...... still a slight stumble at idle..... need to tweak the timing......

We actually started the engine with the dizzy mounted loose so that while Grant was cranking the starter I rotated the dizzy until it fired and ran smooth...... real exotic timing process....... re adjusted the carb idel jet screw and tweaked the dizzy by hand to get best smooth idle.

....and clamped it down.

I could not for the love of God see the white mark on the flywheel.... even checked to see if the white paint was still visible...... timing light did not seem to flash bright enough...... may the direct sunlight messed things up so we will do it again inside the shady barn.

So far I am very pleased with the conversion......... will tweak later.

So the running engine was begging for a spin on the road..... remember no lights, no license, no insurance, no fun...... went like a banshee up to fourth gear in low range into the field...... where I had to slow down as it bounced to much...... U turn back on the road I shifted the Tcase from low range to high range....... was doing well in first....smooth crash in second and...... and...... when third gear engaged..... something let go in the transfer case and was left powerless in the middle of the road with Sunday drivers slowing down to look.......

So I let her roll backward onto the shoulder and ditch and screemed for help..... Rotters to the rescue.

We pulled it back to the barn with the tractor...... at first look the Tcase shifting handle was jammed and the t case was in neutral .......

We now understand that the high / low range lever may need adjustment to keep it from popping out.....because when it does pop out it jams the shifter lever and can only be corrected by removing the shiter lever (two bolts) and moving the shifting rods by hand using a very long screw driver.

Now for the headache...... to properly adjust the Tcase hi/lo range rod I will need to remove the floor plates and possibly drop the t case...... the shifting rod is designed so that it must be disconnected and rotated on itself to screw in or out for adjustment..... the linkage is NOT designed to allow disconnecting the shifting rods and do an adjustment in place...... &&%#**@

We will no doubt spend a whole weekend understanding how to do it...do it... and test it.

At this point we have one side of the truck on jack stands which helps us to rotate the drivetrain to facilitate the shifting diagnostics...... we will no doubt verify the 4x4 linkage and winch/PTO while we are deep in this process. The MB-C2 is of some help but cannot overcome the design nightmare of the machine itself.....

All in fun they say ...!

Will keep you posted of our findings.

Any comments/suggestions from other Pertronix user are welcomed